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Race, it’s complicated

Two students’ stories illustrate the elusive influence of race
on behavior and discipline.

By Chris Henry
chenry@kitsapsun.com
360-792-9219
Educators, including top officials in Kitsap and North Mason school
districts, agree that some groups of students — kids of color,
those with learning disabilities and the poor — are disciplined
more often and more harshly than the majority white, middle-class
students.
What’s not always clear is the interplay among contributing factors
that may include family dynamics, the student’s personality, mental
health issues, teachers’ bias or a combination of the above.
Clearly educators, students and their parents all have their roles
to play. But as these students’ stories show, it’s hard to pinpoint
when, where and why behavior starts to go off track.

GOOD BOY, BAD DECISIONS
Cedric Turner was a sophomore at Central Kitsap High School when he
was arrested Nov. 11, 2011, for bringing a gun to schools in
Central Kitsap and North Kitsap and firing off a round at Raab Park
in Poulsbo. No one was injured.
The Turner family, who are black and in the military, felt a
culture shock moving to predominantly white Kitsap County, said
Lapeachtriss Turner, Cedric’s mom. Cedric felt out of his element
after living in more diverse communities, his mother said. A good
student, socially adrift, he hooked up with some troublesome
kids.
The Raab Park incident stemmed from bullying at school with racial
undertones, Lapeachtriss said. Cedric got drawn in trying to defend
friends in his racially mixed group. So yes, race was “a huge
factor” in his getting kicked out of school, she said.
Cedric is a good boy who made bad decisions, his mother says. She
excuses none of her son’s behavior. The family was frustrated,
however, by what they describe as uneven support and communication
from district administrators before and after the arrest. Central
Kitsap School District officials won’t comment on behavior records
of individual students.
Cedric’s cause was complicated by an earlier, similar firearms
charge in California. In Kitsap County Superior Court, he pleaded
guilty to three felony charges, including possession of a dangerous
weapon at school.
Expelled from CKHS and on probation, Cedric took classes at the
Kitsap Alternative Transition School, where students under court
supervision can earn credits while suspended or expelled.
Cedric progressed well, but after several months, he ran away and
began skipping school, violating terms of his probation. Taken back
into custody, he completed his sentence in the juvenile detention
center.
Cedric was sent to live with his grandmother in Georgia. He caught
up by taking extra credits, first at an alternative school, later
at a regular high school. But when his parents tried to move him to
the North Carolina district in which they now live, his felony
record dogged him, and officials were reluctant to admit him. The
family has worked on an alternative plan for Cedric to complete his
high school education.
All he sees, said his mom, are doors closing left and right.
“He did what he did, and he should have been punished. I’m the
first one to say that,” Lapeachtriss said. “I just want us to get
past all of this and move forward. I don’t want him to get punished
for the rest of his life.”
WHAT MAKES TONY TICK?
Statistically, Tony Riojas, 18, has two strikes against him: he has
learning disabilities and he is multi-cultured. His father is
black, his mother is Mexican, and his stepdad is white.
Tony’s military family lived in ethnically diverse towns before
moving to Kitsap County. He spent time with his father in Florida,
but says his dad’s neighborhood is “ghetto,” rife with conflict. He
prefers Poulsbo where his ethnicity makes him a standout.
“I love being different,” he said. “I’m pretty sure my skin color
makes me who I am in Poulsbo. Everybody knows me as the black kid,
so if I wasn’t the black kid, who would I be?”
Sociable, smart, athletic, Tony has been in trouble since fifth
grade, his angry outbursts landing him in the principal’s office
time after time. He’s been arrested twice; charges were dropped
both times.
Diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Tony had a
specialized learning plan at North Kitsap High School that required
him to follow a behavior “contract.” Therapists also diagnosed
“oppositional defiance disorder,” described in the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) as “an ongoing pattern
of anger-guided disobedience, hostility, and defiant behavior
toward authority figures.” The district, which declined to comment,
would not recognize the condition, according to Tony’s mother,
Corine Proctor.
Tony thinks race and disability might be factors for some students
who get in trouble, but not for him.
“I’ll probably be the only person you will talk to who will admit
to just causing trouble,” he said. “I was very hot headed. …
Honestly, I didn’t care, ‘cause that was just me.’ Up until 11th
grade, I didn’t care about what anybody thought or what anybody did
or the consequences of my actions.”
Conflict was the norm. Tony admits using his blackness to
intimidate people.
Tony continued getting in trouble on returning from Florida to
Poulsbo as a senior.
“I had a past with that school,” he said. “Every little thing I
did, if I was late to class they’d write me up.”
This fall, a kid from the high school, a former friend, crossed
him.
“I saw him at school one day. I said, ‘Listen, if I see you off
campus you will legitimately be dead,’ Tony said. And he meant
it.
There was a confrontation in the Dairy Queen parking lot, and the
kid reported feeling threatened. The school took it as a credible
threat, and because of Tony’s lengthy discipline record, they
expelled him.
Tony’s mother and stepfather reached the end of their rope and
kicked him out of the house. He ended up couch surfing, wondering
what to do next.
Tony has no interest in going back to the high school, but he blew
off the options offered by his mom, Corine said.
She thinks she should have drawn a line in the sand years ago.
“I’m tired of this scrub life I’m living. I have no money, no job,
no diploma,” Tony said. “I know now if I would have just stayed on
the straight and narrow, I’d be done with school and in the Navy,
going places, going abroad and having it all.”

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2 thoughts on “Race, it’s complicated”

I’m close with Tony’s family in Poulsbo, especially his mom. I’ve been watching from the sidelines as this situation has unfolded for the past 2 years. It’s a shame he had to face so many obstacles at and with the school. He has a great sense of humor and a fantastic personality; always ready with a smile and a hug. As an adult with ADHD, I’m here to tell you it’s no joke. It’s something to be taken seriously. I’m not making any excuses for Tony’s behavior, but I understand, and can relate to, some of his struggles.